Full Time: Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool
Olivier Giroud scored the only goal of the game as Chelsea kept their top-four hopes alive after a win over Liverpool. The Reds are now only three points ahead of us but we have one game in hand on Jurgen Klopp’s men as the season comes to a close.
The Frenchman rose high in the 32nd minute to score from a deflected cross and Liverpool, for all the domination, barely had a whimper at goal.
Mohamed Salah was poor and even picked up a yellow for simulation while we were great on the break and had chances to wrap up the game.
All eyes will surely be on the last game of the season as we aim to win all our games, hoping that Liverpool fail to beat Brighton.
Giroud was great for us but there were a number of others who did their bit too and here’s how the Blues fared at the Stamford Bridge today.
Chelsea Player Ratings
Thibaut Courtois – 8/10
Courtois was brilliant in the first half as he denied Sadio Mane twice. The Belgian was barely tested once we scored the goal, as we commanded the box well in the final few minutes.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 7.5/10
Dave had another quality game for us and kept tabs on Mane and Mohamed Salah throughout the game.
Gary Cahill – 7.5/10
The Englishman might not have had a lot of good games but he was great in this one and kept Roberto Firmino quiet.
Antonio Rudiger – 8/10
A fantastic performance from the German as Salah barely threatened our goal. Hopefully, we will see more such performances from the defender.
Victor Moses – 7/10
This might not have been the best performance from Moses in an attacking sense but he was full of energy and did well to contain Liverpool’s attackers.
Cesc Fabregas – 7/10
Fabregas did have a few good passes in him but he was outshone by his partners in midfield.
N’Golo Kante – 8/10
Kante was a monster in the midfield and had a great tackle on Mane to deny him a goal after chasing back from the half-way line.
Tiemoue Bakayoko – 7/10
This could be the midfielder’s best performance for us. Bakayoko was great in the middle of the park and even though he was horrible in the attack, he did his job for us.
Marcos Alonso – 7/10
Alonso was his usual self as he bombed forward to attack and almost scored with an incredible volley.
Eden Hazard – 8/10
While Hazard did not get on to the score sheet, his pace and guile tormented the Liverpool defence and on another day, he might have scored or assisted another goal.
Olivier Giroud – 7.5/10
Giroud’s hold-up play was excellent and he scored his 5th goal for us with a great header. The Frenchman didn’t have much else to do but he got the all-important goal.
Substitutes
Pedro – 5/10
The Spaniard couldn’t really get much into the game as Liverpool dominated possession.
Davide Zappacosta – N/A
Zappacosta didn’t have time to make an impact on the game.
Willian – N/A
The Brazilian came on in the final few seconds and didn’t have time to do much.
